A Fine Morning in the NICU

Last night was hard for me.  It was my 1st night alone in the hospital and I had a few hiccups.  Seems they want me pumping every 3 hours and when your trying to roll out of bed with a c-section wound on your abdomen it can be difficult.  I believe my 1 am pumping was my hurdle point where the pain has been the worst yet, but from there it seems to be getting better.

This morning I feel pretty good and was able to walk the entire way to see Payton in the NICU and attend morning rounds (which is a great accomplishment considering I've been relying on wheelchair and others up till that point).

I arrived in Payton's room just as she was getting another x-ray.  It was interesting to watch them maneuver her around and how her stats jumped around on the monitor.  Still, she was very calm and we learned that it is due to the switch of her pain meds to Morphine which has longer staying power then Fentanyl which she was previously on.  The downside to the Morphine is that she's 'out of it' enough that she's no longer breathing over the vent but the upside is that she's much calmer and she isn't desatting as often as she was with the Fentanyl (which seems to be preferable to the neonatal team).

Rounds this morning continued along the positive in that Payton continues to hold her own.  She's not 'improving' per say but that's ok, because her stats are good enough that she's stable and 'fine' (the medical term used a lot in morning rounds).

The biggest surprise (though expected I guess) is that the Neonatal Dr has cleared her for surgery.  Yup, if the surgical team is ok with it, she could have surgery as early as today. 

But, it was explained to me that often the surgical team has different parameters for when Payton is ready for surgery so it could well be that we continue to hold off for another couple of days.

One thing the Neonatal doctor cautioned after rounds is that often CDH babies come back from surgery sicker, some even really sick so we needed to be prepared for her to not handle surgery and the aftermath of surgery that well.  As much as I'd love to see her continue doing 'fine' where she is without increasing her risk, I know Payton needs to cross that next hurdle before she can come home to us. 

I was also told that there would be no harm if the surgical team opted to wait it out a few days.  The neonatal team believes she's ready now but that she will be just as ready even if they hold off till Tuesday.

So today we may learn more about her near future in regards to surgery. 

I also got to be present when they removed her catheter (which she was peeing around) so was able to help with a diaper change. 

So all in all, a 'fine' morning for both baby and I.